Coyotes Clobber Kings in Rookie Series Finale

GLENDALE -- After a nail-biting shootout on Tuesday night, the Coyotes and Los Angeles Kings’ rookie squads concluded their two-game series on Wednesday afternoon at Jobing.com Arena with a lopsided game that Phoenix won 7-1.

The Coyotes got off to a quick start when Jordan Szwarz netted a goal on the power play at the 3:49 mark to give the home team a 1-0 advantage.

Photo by Norm Hall.

Phoenix built a 2-0 lead when defenseman Michael Stone scored with a hard shot from just inside the blue line to beat Kings goaltender Jean-Francois Berube late in the first period.

“The defenseman just kind of threw it up the wall and I knew I had some time to wind up and step into it, so I just put the head down and gave it a pretty good ride,” Stone said.

The Coyotes maintained the momentum at the start of the second period when Szwarz scored again on the power play, this time just 1:13 into the period, to give the Coyotes a 3-0 lead.

Leading 4-0, the Coyotes continued the pressure and the offense in the third period with goals coming from tryout players Derek Hulak and Geordie Wudrick. Hulak’s came at the 4:59 mark of the period, while Wudrick’s goals came at 10:52 and 16:56.

After the game Wudrick talked about how happy he was to play well against the Kings.

“I thought today was better then yesterday,” Wudrick said. “Obviously I was able to get a couple of goals, obviously that feels good, especially for me. I was drafted by LA, so obviously it’s nice to come out here and play against them and do well and beat them tonight.”

Physical play intensified in the final minutes of the game and was punctuated by a by fight between Coyotes forward Blair Riley and Kings defenseman Dylan King with about five minutes left in the game. King left the ice with a nasty cut and did not return to the game.

Not only was the Coyotes offense working well on Wednesday, but goaltending looked strong, too.

Louis Domingue, whom the Coyotes drafted in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, gave up LA's lone goal with just a little over eight minutes left in the game when Jordan Weal netted his second goal of the series.

After the game, Domingue credited the effort of the defenseman in front of him in helping him put together a solid effort.

“All the defensive players really wanted to protect the paint and protect the house, so it makes it look easy for me out there,” Domingue said.

Coach Ray Edwards liked the team effort.

“I thought our feet were moving,” Edwards said. “...We just old fashioned outworked them. We won a lot of puck races, won a lot of puck battles, we went to the net real hard and I think our goalie was real good, too.”

Wednesday’s game ended the 2010-11 Coyotes Rookie Camp. The veterans will report to training camp this weekend in preparation for the preseason opener on Sept. 21 in Anaheim.

► EDITOR'S NOTE: Click here to learn which rookies have been invited to report to training camp on Friday.